ON  THE 


I1CA 


OF  GUATEMALA. 


PROF.  DANIEL  GT.  BRINTON,  M.  D. 


(Head  before  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  October  17, 


Bancroft  Library 


On  the  Language  and  Ethnologic  Position  of  the  Xinca  Indians  of  Guate- 
mala.   By  Dr.  Daniel  G.  Brinton. 

(Read  before  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  October  17,  1884. ) 

In  the  aboriginal  ethnology  of  Guatemala,  the  affiliations  of  the  Xinca 
tribe  have  always  remained  uncertain.  The  opinion  is  expressed  by  Dr. 
Stoll  (Zur  Ethnographic  der  Republik  Guatemala,  p.  170,  Zurich,  1884) 
that  an  investigation  of  their  language  might  throw  a  new  light  on  the 
migrations  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  that  region. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  however,  no  words  of  their  language  have  been 
published,  and  students  have  had  no  means  of  comparing  it  with  the  dia- 
lects which  surrounded  them.  I  am  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  sup- 
ply this  deficiency  to  a  moderate  extent,  and  to  offer  sufficient  materials  to 
form  some  opinion  as  to  this  people. 

Their  precise  location  was  on  the  Rio  de  los  Esclavos  and  its  branches, 
which  empties  into  the  Pacific  ocean,  about  N.  lat.  13°  50',  W.  long.  90° 
25',  and  westward  to  the  Rio  Michatoyat.  Their  area  embraced  most  of 
the  departments  of  Santa  Rosa  and  Jutiapa,  and  may  roughly  be  said  to 
have  extended  about  fifty  miles  along  the  coast,  and  back  to  the  Sierra 
some  sixty  miles. 

On  the  west  they  were  bordered  by  the  Pipiles,  of  Aztec  lineage,  speak- 
ing a  Nahuatl  dialect  not  much  corrupted  ;  on  their  north  were  the  Poko- 
mams,  who  belonged  to  the  Maya  stock,  and  on  their  east  was  a  colony 
of  Popolucas,  a  tribe  supposed  to  have  been  related  to  the  Mixes  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec. 

Their  name  hg,s  been  variously  spelled,  Xinca,  Xinka  and  Sine  a.  The 
first  given  is  correct,  the  initial  X  having  the  value  of  the  soft  English  sh, 
$8  in  thow. 

According  to  tfye  Geagrafia  d.e  las  Lenguas  Maya-J£iche,   MS.  of  Dr. 


Berendt,  the  Xinca  is  or  was  spoken  in  the  following  towns  or  villages  in 
the  district  mentioned  : 

Atescatempa,  Mustiquipaque, 

Atiquipaque,  Nancinta, 

Chiquimulilla.  Sinacantan, 

Comapa,  Tacuilula, 

Guazacapam,  Taxisco, 

Ixguatan,  Tepeaco, 

Jupiltepeque,  Tescuaco, 

Jutiapa,  Tupitepeque. 

The  first  information  about  the  Xincas  is  contained  in  the  letter  of  Pedro 
de  Alvarado  to  Hernan  Cortes,  dated  July  28,  1524.*  He  there  describes 
his  conquest  of  their  territory  in  the  previous  winter.  Further  particulars 
of  the  campaign  are  given  by  Juarros,  in  his  Historia  de  Guatemala,  Tom. 
ii,  Tratado  iv,  Cap.  xxii,  from  the  MSS.  of  Fuentes. 

From  these  sources  we  learn  that  Alvarado  first  encountered  the  Xincas 
after  he  had  crossed  the  River  Michatoyat  and  entered  the  town  Atiqui- 
paque (Atiepar,  in  Alvarado's  letter,  who  makes  as  much  havoc  with  the 
native  names  as  he  did  with  their  armies). 

In  this  town  he  particularly  states  that  he  met  another  people  and  a  dif- 
ferent language  from  those  he  had  just  left  ("este  es  otra  lengua  y  gente 
por  si "). 

Thence  he  proceeded  to  Tacuilula  and  Taxisco,  not  encountering  deter- 
mined opposition,  as  Juarros  erroneously  says,  as  Alvarado  informs  us 
that  the  natives  received  him  without  fighting,  but  fled  in  the  night  to  the 
forests.  After  leaving  Taxisco,  however,  they  attacked  him  in  force  and 
slew  many  of  his  allies. 

The  chief  town  of  the  Xinca  would  seem  to  have  been  either  Nancinta 
(the  "  Nacendelan,  pueblo  muy  grande  "  of  Alvaraclo's  letter)  or  according 
to  Juarros,  Guazacapam.  In  this  vicinity  a  determined  stand  was  made 
by  the  Indians,  and  they  caused  the  Spaniards  and  their  allies  much  trouble 
by  digging  pitfalls,  and  by  planting  the  paths  with  sharpened  sticks  said 
to  be  poisonous.  What  puzzled  the  Spaniards  was  that  these  natives 
during  their  fighting  held  in  their  hands  small  bells  with  which  they  made 
as  much  noise  as  possible.  Probably  they  were  intended  either  as  charms, 
or  to  alarm  the  enemy. 

Juarros  adds  that  these  tribes  were  not  conquered  by  Alvarado's  incur- 
sion. It  required  renewed  efforts  by  Don  Pedro  Portocarrero,  in  1526,  to. 
bring  them  under  subjection. 

On  account  of  their  obstinacy,  numbers  of  them  were  sold  as  slaves  and 
branded  with  a  hot  iron,  and  hence  was  derived  the  Spanish  name  of  the 
river  on  which  the  Xincas  lived,  Rio  de  los  Esclavos,  Slave  river. 

Very  few  hints  as  to  their  social  condition  are  found  in  the  early 

*  I  quote  it  as  published  in  the  Bibliqtecq  de  aulpres  EspaHoleSj  Vol.  xxij, 
Madrid,  185?. 


accounts.  Their  country  is  stated  to  have  been  populous,  their  towns 
built  of  wood  and  not  of  stone,  they  were  skillful  with  the  bow  and  arrow, 
and  were  bold  warriors.  They  formed  small  independent  tribes  united  in 
a  sort  of  confederacy,  the  "cabeza  desenorio,"  or  chief  clan,  being  at  "the 
famous  town  of  Guazacapam, "  and  its  four  dependents  or  allies  are  named 
as, 

Nestiquipaque,  Guaimango,  and 

Chiquimulilla,  Guanagazapa. 

The  linguistic  materials  I  offer  are  vocabularies  of  three  dialects  of  the 
Xinca. 

The  first,  from  Sinacantan,  was  obtained  from  a  native  of  that  place  by 
the  distinguished  historian  and  antiquary,  Don  Juan  Gavarrete,  of  Guate- 
mala, in  1868.  The  other  two  were  obtained  for  him  in  the  same  year  by 
Don  Sebastian  Yaldez,  Cura  of  Jutiapa.  As  according  to  Dr.  Stoll,  the 
originals  of  these  have  disappeared,  no  one  knows  where,  since  Senor 
Gavarrete's  death,  the  present  publication  seems  the  more  appropriate* 
presenting  as  it  does  the  only  specimens  of  the  Xinca  language  known  to 
be  in  existence.  I  would  not  omit  to  add  that  they  came  into  my  hands, 
together  with  other  valuable  documents,  in  the  collection  of  the  late  Dr. 
C.  Hermann  Berendt. 

Phonology  of  the  Xinca. 

The  language  is  vocalic,  and  with  few  gutturals  or  harsh  palatals,  con- 
trasting in  this  respect  with  the  Cakchiquel  and  other  Maya  dialects.  The 
labials,  b,  f,  and  v,  are  absent,  although  b  is  foun  d  in  two  or  three  words 
of  the  accompanying  vocabulary.  The  linguals  are  not  prominent,  the 
d  and  th  not  appearing  at  all.  The  semi-vowels  r  and  I  are  convertible  in 
the  dialects  and  occasionally  alternate  with  n. 

In  the  vocabularies,  the  letters  have  the  powers  of  the  Spanish  alphabet, 
except  that  x  is  pronounced  like  sh  in  she,  the  •»  is  the  neutral  vowel  as  in 
but,  the  z  is  the  same  as  the  s,  and  the  compounds  csh  and  seh  appear  to 
have  the  value  of  the  x  (=  sh). 

Bancroft  Library 

Vocabulary  of  the  Xinca  Language. 

LoCAiaxr.          Sinacantan.  Jupiltepeque.  Jutiapa. 

Man,  jurac,  jumu,  jurgaqui. 

Woman,  ayala,  aya,  aiya. 

Boy,  xurum,  sorone,  soroni. 

Father,  tatan,  tataj,  tataj. 

Mother,  utan,  utaj,   '  utac. 

Son,  najuum,  nauij,  naguij. 

Daughter,  jaya  najuun, naguij 

Brother,  xuyam,  keruke,  suyac. 

Head,  jamatan,  usajle,  gesalia. 

Hair,  muxjumatan,  mosal,  musal. 

Eyes,  jurtin,  juratii,  yuratica, 


4 

LOCALITY. 

Sinacantan. 

Jupiltepeque. 

Juitiapa. 

Nose, 

jutu  narin, 



narica. 

Nostril. 

uona  narin, 



lurate. 

Ear, 

maman, 

mami, 

manca. 

Mouth, 

xa'jan, 

xajac, 

sajac. 

Tongue, 

ejlan, 

ela, 

eglajac. 

Teeth, 

jari  xa'jan, 



sajac. 

Throat, 

ta'tam, 



tarti. 

Breast, 

ziquim, 

tutu, 

Arm, 

pum, 

paja, 

paja'. 

Hand, 

jixi  pum, 

pu, 

puj. 

Fingers, 

mux, 

pere  pu, 

pere  puj. 

Belly, 

jiguin, 

ururi, 

ururi. 

Leg, 

titan, 

kegiie, 

uapi. 

Knee, 

jaricomon, 

sulna, 



Foot, 

uapan, 

uapi, 

guapi. 

Town, 

machiname, 

saguqui, 

saguqui. 

House, 

macu, 



macu. 

Bed, 

a'tac, 

alutu, 

alutaj. 

Hamack, 

guaro, 



guaro. 

Mortar  (mill  stone) 

,uiki, 

uik, 

uic. 

Plate, 

aulac 

aljuat, 

augeal. 

Jar 

erec 

P1*PP 

Fire, 

uray, 

uu'ra, 

C1CO. 

icura'. 

Water, 

ni, 



huy. 

Maize, 

aima, 



ahua. 

Ear  of  maize, 





aima. 

Bean, 

xin'ac, 

sicna, 

cshidna. 

Salt, 

tita, 



tila. 

Hat, 

ta'yuc, 



tayuc. 

Breeches, 

xu'nan, 

asuna, 

asiuna. 

Paper, 

papooc, 

papu, 

popoque. 

Heaven  (sky), 

uina, 



giiigna. 

Snn, 

pari, 

parri, 

parri. 

Moon, 

agua, 



ahua. 

Star, 

xune, 

hueso, 

gueso. 

Day, 

pari, 

ti  parri, 

ti  parri. 

Night, 

chamazOToa, 

chijmac, 

schugmac. 

Wind, 

tan, 

una, 

yeuha. 

River, 

xanjui, 

tire, 

ture. 

Hill, 

naguona, 

kerter, 

querter. 

Woods, 

jaragua, 

casagua, 

caragua. 

Road, 

tasma, 

talma, 

talma. 

Cornfield, 

uaya'a, 

uayaaj, 

guaya'. 

Earth  (land), 

naro, 

narro, 

narro. 

Stone, 

jixi, 

ixe, 

gicshe. 

LOCALITY. 

Sinacantan. 

Jupiltepeque. 

Jutiapa. 

Tree, 

jutube, 

Utis, 

utu'. 

Ceiba, 

pa'guac, 





Banana, 

jugua, 





Jaguar, 

uijlay, 

uilay, 

guilai. 

Deer, 

tuma, 



tubma. 

Jabali, 

cargua  jaxo, 





Dog, 

pelo, 





Snake, 

jurumuy, 

urunugui, 

urunugui. 

Fish, 

seema, 

samu, 

giamuc. 

God, 

tiuix, 





Soul, 

terouala, 

namasamac, 



Alive, 

ixiuao, 

ixij, 

isig. 

Dead, 

teroa'ar, 

tero', 

tero'. 

Old, 

mere, 

mochi, 

mochi. 

White, 

mooti', 

moatij, 

mougua. 

Black, 

zumati, 

simatij, 

sijmatig. 

Red, 

tenati, 

tenajtij, 

tenajtig. 

Yellow, 

meelati', 

totojtij, 



Green, 

mee, 

meyatij, 

meyatij. 

Blue, 

mee, 

, 



Bright 

ininabar 

J-*  1  I  ^  I  A  U  , 

Dark, 

zama, 

.  ___ 



Above, 

xam, 





Below 

xama' 

Yes, 

jaa, 



No, 

xim, 





Good-day, 





cshi  mani  : 

Dios. 

Good-night, 



cshi  manu! 

adios. 

Good-bye, 





coo-par. 

NUMERALS. 


\. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 


ica, 
ti, 

uala, 
jiria, 

P^j, 

tacal, 

pujua' 


uxtu', 
pakil, 


ical, 

ical. 

piar, 

pia'r. 

ualar, 

guarar. 

iriar, 

iriar. 

pijar, 

pujar. 



tacalar. 

puljar,   . 

pulluar. 

apuj, 

apocar. 



gerjsar. 



paquilar. 

6 

COMMENTS  ON  THE  VOCABULARY. 

Man.  Jumu.  In  the  Xicaque  language  of  Honduras  jome  =  man,  but  as 
this  is  the  only  close  similarity  in  a  comparison  of  thirty  seven  words, 
I  attribute  it  to  accident ;  jurac  has  a  faint  resemblance  to  Cakchiquel 
hun  uinak,  one  man. 

Father,  tataj,  is  evidently  the  universal  baby  word  for  father,  and  its 
analogies  are  worthless  for  tracing  affinities.  The  same  is  true  of 
utaj,  mother.  Compare  Germ.  Vater,  Mutter,  Cakchiquel  iata. 

Son.     najuum,  in  Pokomchi  akun,  probably  an  accidental  resemblance. 

Daughter,  jaya  najuun,  jaya  evidently  from  aya,  woman,  female,  hence 
"female  child,"  the  combination  showing  that  najuun  does  not  mean 
son,  but  child,  offspring. 

Brother,  xuyam  and  keruke  are  evidently  wholly  different  words,  and 
are  either  used  by  the  different  sexes,  or  apply  the  one  to  an  elder  the 
other  to  a  younger  brother. 

Hair,  mux  jumatan  (the  last  word  no  doubt  an  error  for  jamatan,  liter- 
ally "the  fingers  of  the  head"  or  more  properly  " the  extremities, 
the  small  branches  of  the  head").  See  Fingers,  musal  is  apparently 
a  synthesis  of  mux,  and  gesalia,  with  the  same  signification.  Such 
compounds  indicate  that  the  Xinca  is  more  synthetic  than  the  Maya 
dialects. 

Nose,    narin,  narica,  may  be  the  Spanish  nariz,  nose. 

Teeth.  The  words  xa'jan  and  sajac,  mean  mouth.  The  prefix  j<m  seems 
to  mean  either  bone,  or  front  part,  as  it  re-occurs  in  jaricomon,  knee 
(knee-cap  ?). 

Breast,  tutu  may  be  Spanish  teta,  but  in  the  Maya  dialects  we  find  Cak- 
chiquel and  Quiche  tu,  tit,  mamma.  Pocoman,  tuj,  Choi.,  txu;  ziquim 
may  be  related  to  Quiche  tz'um,  mamma. 

Hand,  jixipum,  probably  "the  end  of  the  arm."  In  none  of  the  Maya 
dialects  is  there  any  separate  word  for  "hand."  The  hand  and  arm 
are  included  in  one  term,  the  proper  translation  of  which  is  "the 
upper  extremity."  When  it  is  desired  to  distinguish  between  hand 
and  arm,  a  compound  must  be  formed,  or  the  distinction  be  left  to  the 
hearer.  Jixi  is  also  given  for  stone  ;  perhaps  the  stone  point  or  end 
of  the  arrow  explains  the  identity  of  the  expressions. 

Fingers.  On  mux,  see  teeth,  pere  pu,  from  pum,  upper  extremity,  and 
a  prefix  probably  signifying  ends,  tips,  or  branches. 

Leg.     uapi,  means  foot,  q.  v. 

Knee.     See  teeth.     The  two  words  given  evidently  mean  different  things. 

Foot,     uapan.  Comp.     Cakchiquel  akan. 

Town.  macMname.  This  is  plainly  the  Pipil  chinamitl,  town,  with  a 
prefix  ma. 

Mortar.  Span,  piedra  de*  moler,  the  hollowed  stone  on  which  the 
women  pound  the  corn. 

Plate,  in  the  original,  comal,  from  Nahuatl  comalli,  a  shallow  earthen  dish 
used  to  prepare  tortillas. 


Maize.  The  word  aima  given  for  maize  and  ear  of  maize  is  found  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  form  in  Chontal,  and  in  Lenca  ama.  I  am  inclined  to 
derive  it  from  ixim  (pronounce  ishim)  the  universal  word  for  maize  in 
the  Maya  family.  Later,  we  have  for  corn  field  uaya'a,  which  is  close 
to  the  Cakchiquel  auan,  corn-field,  or  auex,  when  the  corn  is  young. 
If  this  is  correct,  it  would  indicate  that  the  neighboring  tribes  learned 
the  cultivation  of  corn  from  the  Maya  stock,  which  is  the  more  signifi- 
cant as  it  is  now  the  opinion  of  botanists  that  the  native  habitat  of 
the  Zea  mais  was  in  Guatemala  where  it  was  developed  artificially 
from  the  wild  Euchlcena  luxurians.  The  other  word  given  for  maize, 
ahua,  is  identical  with  that  for  "moon."  This  may  possibly  refer 
to  an  identification  of  the  moon  as  the  goddess  of  maize.  In  Chipe- 
way  the  name  of  maize  is  mandamin,  "the  grain,  min,  of  the  god, 
manito." 

Beans,  xin'ac  is  the  Cakchiquel,  tzinak,  Tzendal  txenek.  Evidently  the 
Xincas  got  their  corn  and  beans  first  from  their  neighbors  of  Maya 
lineage. 

Salt,  tita,  from  Nahuatl  iztatl.  This  article  the  Xincas  learned  from 
their  Nahuatl  speaking  neighbors,  the  Pipiles. 

Breeches.     All  three  words  are  corruptions  of  the  Spanish  calzones. 

Paper.     The  words  are  corruptions  of  Span,  papel. 

Heaven  or  Sky.     uina',  closely  allied  to  Zotzil  uinaje'l. 

Sun  and  Moon .  In  pure  Maya  the  general  root  for  sun  is  Jet,  for  moon,  u. 
But  in  the  Kekchi,  Pokomchi  and  Pokomam  we  have  for  moon  the 
totally  different  word  po.  This  seems  to  be  the  radical  ofparri,  sun, 
in  Xinca.  Further,  in  Chafiabal  and  Mam  we  have  for  moon  ixa'u, 
where  the  ix  is  probably  the  feminine  prefix,  leaving  for  moon  a'u,  a 
kin  to  Xiuca  ahua. 
The  word  ahua  bears  a  superficial  resemblance  to  huy,  water,  but  a 

close  examination  of  these  tongues  does   not   bear  out  Dr.  Trumbull's 

theory,  of  a  radical  connection  between  the  expressions  for  sun  and  water. 

(See  Proceedings  of  the  American  Philological  Association,  1875-6,  p.  45.) 

Star,  xune,  allied  to  Cakchiquel,  tzumil,  star;  hueso  appears  to  have  no 
connection  with  Maya  dialects. 

Day.    pan,  the  same  as  sun. 

Night,  chijm—ac,  Cakchiquel  aka,  night,  perhaps  with  the  preposition 
chi,  at,  "by  night,"  "at  night." 

Wind,     yeuha,  Pokonchi  te'ug. 

Tree,     utis,  Tznedal  te,  Choi  tie'. 

Jaguar,     uilay,  Pokomchi,  baijlam. 

Deer,     tuma,  Ckoiital,  chima'. 

Jabali.  cargua,  from  caragua,  woods,  jaxo,  Pokomchi,  aj'k,  hog,  wild 
hog  ;  compare  the  name  of  the  same  animal  in  Pokomchi,  quiche  ajk, 
wood-hog. 

Dog.    pelo,  Spanish,  perro. 

Soul,     terouala,  in  which  tero  is  the  adjective  "dead." 


8 

Alive,    ixij,  Aguacateca,  itzin,  Tzendal,  c'uxul. 
Old.     mochi,  Maya,  noixib,  Tzotzil  mo'ol. 

Colors.     The  names  of  all  the  colors  differ  totally  from  the  Maya.     They 
appear  to  have  a  generic  suffix,  ati,  appended  to  the  radicals 

mo,  white.  ten,  red. 

sim,  black.  tot,  yellow. 

me,  blue  or  green. 

The  word  meelati  for  yellow  is  probably  a  mistake,  and  the  identifica- 
tion of  blue  and  green  is  common  in  the  radicals  of  most  Central  Amer- 
ican tongues  as  I  have  elsewhere  pointed  out  (The  Names  of  the  Gods 
in  the  Kiche  Myths,  Proc.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  1881). 

For  comparison  I  add  the  Maya  radicals  for  colors,  as  presented  in 
the  Kiche  dialect. 

zak,  white.  cak,  red. 

gek,  black.  gan,  yellow. 

rax,  blue  or  green. 

It  is  evident  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  relationship,  and  they 
are  equally  remote  from  the  Pipil  and  Aztec  color  names. 
Numerals.  The  numerals  indicate  few  and  faint  similarities  to  any  of  the 
other  Central  American  or  Southern  Mexican  languages  with  which  I 
have  compared  them  ;  ica,  one,  is  like  Mangue  tica,  and  the  four  first 
may  be  compared  with  the  Lenca  of  Honduras  as  follows  : 

XINCA,  LENCA 

1.  ica,  ita. 

2.  piar,  pe. 

3.  uala,  lagua, 

4.  jiria,  aria. 

But  I  regard  this  as  accidental,  as  it  is  not  borne  out  by  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Lenca  vocabulary,  in  four  dialects,  which  I  have 
brought  into  comparison. 

The  termination  ar  in  the  Jalapa  dialect  reminds  one  of  the  suffix 
uual,  indicating  turn  or  repetition,  found  in  the  Ixil  numerals,  a 
rather  pure  Maya  4ialect,  thus  : 

ungvual,  one  time, 

cavual,  two  times, 

ox  uai,  three  times,  etc. 

God.  Unix.  Gavarrete  appends  the  note  to  this  word:  "It  does  not 
properly  signify  Gfod,  but  image  or  idol.  At  present  it  is  applied  to 
the  images  of  the  saints."  It  is  probably  from  the  Cakchiquel  tioh, 
great,  divine,  a  word  employed  in  a  religious  sense.  This  indicates 
the  origin  of  their  ancient  cult. 

The  number  five,  puj-ar,  is  clearly  tl^e  noun  puj,  hand,  and  refers 
to  the  five  fingers. 


Six,  tacal,  appears  to  be  a  compound  of  ti-ical,  =  second,  first,  i.  e.  the 
first  finger  of  the  second  hand.  In  seven,  puj-ua,  and  eight,  a-puj, 
the  vfordpuj,  hand,  is  apparently  present. 

From  this  analysis  I  reach  the  conclusion  that  the  Xincas  belonged  to  a 
different  linguistic  stock  from  the  Mayas  or  the  Pipiles  (Nahuas).  They 
were  a  rude  tribe,  who  first  learned  the  planting  of  corn  and  beans  from 
the  Cakchiquels  or  Pocomams,  some  parts  of  their  religious  rites  from  the 
same,  the  use  of  salt,  and  some  of  their  village  organization  from  the 
Pipiles,  and  portions  of  their  present  dress  from  the  Spaniards. 

They  spoke  a  vocalic  language  of  monosyllabic  radicals,  whose  themes 
are  chiefly  formed  by  suffixes. 

It  may  be  that  they  were  the  rude  primitive  folk  who  once  extended 
over  Guatemala  and  were  forced  down  to  the  coast  and  into  the  restricted 
limits  where  they  were  first  found,  by  the  warlike  immigration  of  the 
Maya  and  Nahua  races,  both  of  whom  distinctly  remembered  a  foreign 
origin. 

We  know  little  of  the  date  of  the  advent  of  the  Cakchiquels  and  Poco- 
mams into  Guatemala.  But  a  traditional  history  of  it  is  preserved  in  the 
"Annals  of  the  Cakchiquels,"  written  shortly  after  the  Conquest  by  Fran- 
cisco Ernantez  Arana  Xahila,  the  original  MS.  of  which  is  in  my  pos- 
session. He  informs  us  that  when  his  ancestors  entered  Guatemala  large 
tracts  of  it  were  uninhabited,  and  other  portions  were  peopled  by  a  race 
who,  even  to  the  Cakchiquels,  appeared  as  barbarous,  and  so  rude  that 
they  called  them  chicop,  brutes.  They  had  captured  two  of  these,  and 
learned  some  words  when  they  entered  the  lower  country.  The  annalist 
proceeds  : 

"They  [i.e.  the  ancestors  of  the  Cakchiquels]  descended  finally  to 
Cholumag  and  Zuchitan.  The  language  there  was  very  difficult,  and  only 
the  barbarians  themselves  could  speak  that  language.  We  spoke  only  as 
we  had  asked  the  barbarians  Loxpin  and  Chupichin  [their  captives],  and 
we  said  on  arriving,  'uaya,  uaya,  ela  opa.'  The  barbarians  were  greatly 
astonished  to  hear  us  speak  their  language  with  the  natives  of  Cholumag  ; 
they  were  really  frightened  at  it ;  but  they  gave  us  only  good  words." 

From  these  few  words,  the  meaning  of  which  I  do  not  know,  it  is  evi- 
dent the  language  was  of  a  totally  different  stock  from  Maya  or  Nahuatl. 
It  was  soft  and  vocalic,  like  the  Xinca  ;  and,  indeed,  ela,  tongue  (lan- 
guage *!),  is  found  in  the  vocabulary.  Unfortunately,  Xahila  does  not  tell 
us  the  signification  of  the  phrase  he  gives.  It  was  probably  some  form  of 
friendly  salutation. 

But  it  is  not  worth  while  to  pursue  the  inquiry  further.  These  sugges- 
tions will  indicate  the  interest  which  attaches  to  the  Xinca  tongue  and  will 
I  hope,  inspire  some  one  to  obtain  more  complete  information  about  it. 


